Austrian German under pressure. “Age“ and “media consumption“ as major influencing factors for linguistic change
in Austria and shifting language attitudes regarding Austrian Standard German and German Standard German.

Jutta RANSMAYR

(Universität Wien)

jutta.ransmayr@univie.ac.at

Keywords: Austrian Standard German, “linguistic pressure“, media consumption, norms

Some European languages are extraordinarily rich in variants and varying linguistic features – and German is clearly one of them (Barbour/Stevenson 1998). Up until today, most scientific publications have conceptualised linguistic standard variation with the concept of pluricentric languages (Kloss 1978, Clyne 1995, 2005, Ammon 1995 and 2005, Ammon et al. 2004 and 2016, Schmidlin 2011, Kellermeier/ Rehbein 2014). What is typical both of German and of other pluricentric languages, are phenomena of linguistic asymmetry, influencing the status and prestige of the non-dominant variety (Ammon 1995, Ammon et al. 2004, 2016; Clyne 1995) and evoking feelings of linguistc inferiority among speakers of the non-dominant variety towards speakers of the dominant variety (Muhr 1989, 2005).

The fact that in constellations as the one described above the non-dominant variety of German (Austrian Standard German) is more strongly influenced by the dominant variety (German Standard German) and therefore under (linguistic) pressure, is due to various factors. Two of them, which are both linked to language contact and which evidently leave traces in the individual language use of the German language among Austrians, shall be outlined in this contribution.

If and to what extent there is a correlation between media consumption and language behaviour was one of the questions that were investigated in the project “Austrian German as a language of education and instruction“. In a broadly-based study throughout Austria, school students at secondary school level II and teachers of all school types were asked – among other questions on language attitudes and on the conceptualization of German – about their media consumption. These data were put in relation to their language use and analysed with statistical means – with statistically significant results.

Another influencing factor which turned out to be pivotal as regards language attitudes and language use was the age of the test persons: Their language attitudes as well as their openness towards or rejection of German Standard German variants respectively depend significantly on the age of the probands. This points at generation-specific language change which is currently in progress in Austria.

A further question of interest was whether “age“ was a decisive factor would also find expression in the normative actions of teachers in the prescriptive realm of school. Again, significant correlations between the factor “age“ and the varying normative perceptions of so-called “norm authorities“ could be made out.